Who’s in Charge?

Wanted: Dependable, trustworthy, highly-motivated individual willing to work weekends and nights; must be able to plan events and organize tasks for others; must be good at conflict management and dealing with time constraints; little to no supervision; no experience necessary but preferred; starting salary is $0.

Who would be crazy enough to apply for this job? Umm…that would be me, and a dozen or so other slightly insane souls in San Antonio.

I dipped my toe in the water as a race director for a company 5K race last year. It was a rather simple event. No official timing, no pre-registration, no hassles. Just 100 co-workers running in the park. Easy.

Thinking this is how most races are done, I jumped at the chance to be race director for the upcoming Freedom Day 4-Miler at Woodlawn Park when asked by the San Antonio Road Runners. It was only after I volunteered did I start to understand and fully appreciate what it takes to put on a big race. (And by the way, I didn’t even qualify for this job. Trustworthy? Highly-motivated? Are you kidding me?)

Six months before the race I was already being asked to make decisions. Have you designed your flyer? What awards will you be handing out? Do you have sponsors? (Note: as it turns out sponsors are key to a successful race…the more donations you get the better the food, prizes, and shirts. I had no idea how to get sponsors.)

Between then and now I have been asked to make hundreds of decisions. It’s like building a custom house. Instead of picking out the color of the door hinges I was picking out the color of the race numbers. Instead of laying out a floor plan I was laying out a race course. Am I making the right decisions? I have no idea. Just like with a house, I’ll find out after it’s done. (At least with the house I could blame all the problems on the builder.)

Luckily, I have some of the smartest people in the business (sport?) watching over me. There is a team of people that do these events all the time. All year round. For no money. They are crazier than I am. There are volunteer coordinators, food preparers, registration gurus, time-keepers, etc. I have been going to each one of these experts over the last few weeks in desperation pleading, “What do I do next??” Their patience with me is amazing.

I wouldn’t mind meeting the race director for the San Antonio Rock-N-Roll Marathon. Though I’m sure it is a paid position, he/she must be rather frazzled most of the year. I’m pulling my hair out planning for 500 runners. This person has to plan for 25,000. (I bet he is a heavy drinker.)

More to come on my adventures as race director in upcoming blogs. If you are interested in participating in “my” race you can click here for more info. If you are interested in actually becoming a race director, please contact me at runsatx@gmail.com and I’ll put you in touch with the right people. We could always use a few more job applicants.